• If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

• Ethical considerations must be addressed in the “Methods” section.

• If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) (i.e., institutional review board or ethics review committee) has approved them. The reference number should be mentioned in the Ethical considerations sub- section.

• The principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed and it should be mentioned in the Ethical considerations sub- section.

• Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that the written informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. Please state that written informed consent was obtained from all human adult participants and from the parents or legal guardians of minors. Also, please state the manner in which a written informed consent was obtained from the study participants.

• The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

• Editors may request that authors provide documentation of the formal review and recommendation from the institutional review board or ethics committee responsible for oversight of the study.

• The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.

All clinical trials must be registered prior to submission to the EHJ at one of the registration sites listed below. The registration number should be included in the Methods section.

In accordance with the ICMJE recommendations, authorship in the EHJ is based on the following criteria:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; and the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the data.

Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.

Approval of the final version of the manuscript.

Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Complaints Procedures

This procedure applies to complaints about the policies, procedures, or actions of The EHJ Editorial Board. We welcome complaints as they provide an opportunity and a spur for improvement, and we aim to respond quickly, courteously, and constructively. The following procedures are followed:

Definition

Our definition of a complaint is as follows:

The complainant expresses his or her expression of unhappiness as a complaint.

We infer that the complainant is not simply disagreeing with a decision we have made or something we have published (which happens every day) but thinks that there has been a failure of process; for example, a long delay, a rude response, or a severe misjudgment.

The complaint must be about something that is within the responsibility of The EHJ editorial board - content or process.

How to Make a Complaint

The best way to reach us is by email. Complaints should ideally be made to the person the complainant is already in contact with over the matter being complained about. If that is not appropriate, please email ehj@ssu.ac.ir

Whenever possible, complaints will be processed by the relevant member of the Editorial Board. If that person cannot deal with the complaint, it will be referred to the appropriate section editor or the executive editor.

Complaints that are not under the control of the EHJ Editorial Board will be sent to chairman of the EHJ.

All complaints will be acknowledged within seven working days.

If possible, a full response will be made within four weeks. If this is not possible, an interim response will be given within four weeks. Further interim responses will be provided until the complaint is resolved.

If the complainant is not happy with the resolution, s/he can ask for the complaint to be forwarded to the Ethics Committee at School of Public Health at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences.

If the complainant remains unhappy, complaints should be forwarded to the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee, whose decision is final.

If a complainant remains unhappy after what the university Ethics Committee's final decision, the complainant may complain to The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE publishes a code of practice for editors of scientific, technical, and medical journals http://www.publicationethics.org. It will consider complaints against editors but only once a journal's own complaints procedures have been exhausted.

Ethics of scientific publishing

Duplicate Submission: Submission of a paper implies that it reports unpublished work and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Manuscripts that are found to have been submitted elsewhere, or to be under review elsewhere, will incur duplicate submission sanctions. If previously published tables, illustrations or text are to be included, this should be clearly indicated in the manuscript and the copyright holder's permission must be obtained. Previously published material can be cited in a later review or commentary article, but it must be indicated, using quotation marks if necessary.

Duplicate Publication: Manuscripts that have been published elsewhere with the same intellectual material are considered duplicate publication. If authors have used their own previously published work, or work that is currently under review, as the basis for a submitted manuscript, they are required to cite the previous work and indicate how their submitted manuscript offers novel contributions beyond those of the previous work.

Selective Reporting of Data: Selective reporting of data is inappropriate, especially if unreported data are in disagreement with the findings of the selectively reported data. In accordance with the ICMJE, the EHJ supports publication of negative studies. Authors should cite publications in the literature that are relevant to the uniqueness of the research, publications by others, as well as of their own research. Previous publication of a preliminary report on the data is permissible, if it is stated clearly as a footnote.

Conflicts of Interest: Authors must acknowledge and declare any sources of funding and potential conflicting interest, such as receiving funds or fees from, or holding stocks and shares in, an organization that may profit or lose through publication of your paper.

Scientific Misconducts

Fabrication: Fabrication is the intentional misrepresentation of research results by making up data, such as that reported in a journal article. As with other forms of scientific misconduct, it is the intent to deceive that marks fabrication as highly unethical and different from scientists deceiving themselves. In some jurisdictions, fabrication may be illegal.

Falsification: Falsified evidence could be created by either side in a case (including the police/prosecution in a criminal case), or by someone sympathetic to either side. Misleading by suppressing evidence can also be considered a form of false evidence (by omission).

Plagiarism: Plagiarism of text from a previously published manuscript by the same or another author is a serious publication offence. Small amounts of text may be used, but only where the source of the material is quoted and clearly acknowledged. Fraudulent data or data stolen from other authors is also unethical and will be treated accordingly. Any alleged offence is considered initially by the Editorial Board.